FROM AMEN: I’m sure the breaking news that Philly is about to sprinkle our fair city with an armada of security cameras (250, to be exact) will have all types of panties bunched by 3PM – but fear not, oh Big Brother player haters; this venture is being brought to you by the city AND Unisys, which can only mean the project will be completely fucked by December. Posted on October 22, 2007 at 02:06 PM in Philadelphia | Permalink TrackBack COMMENTS: Before the crack-dealer guild gets all up in arms, let’s keep in mind this is the same firm […]
CONCERT REVIEW: Power 99’s Powerhouse 2007
THE ONE: Ne-Yo all up in the matrix, Powerhouse 2007, Wachovia Center. BY JONATHAN VALANIA FOR THE INQUIRER ‘Nothing succeeds like success’ may well be a cliche but that doesn’t make it any less true, especially in the hip-hop world where sales is artistry. And that’s pretty much how things went down Friday night at the Wachovia Center when radio station Power 99 hosted Powerhouse 2007, a nearly six-hour revue-style parade of major hip-hop artists — some on their way up, others on their way back down. Kanye West, currently the king of the hip-hop hill, headlined with great artistic […]
WORTH REPEATING: Question The Parking Authority
SIX YEARS after Republicans took control of the Philadelphia Parking Authority in a political coup d’etat, the number of people on its payroll has doubled and top salaries have soared, making the patronage haven one of the best-paid addresses in municipal government. In 2001, when House Republican leader John Perzel engineered the takeover, the Parking Authority had 512 full-time employees. Only two of them were making six-figure salaries. Six years later, the full-time payroll has grown to 1,051 people, including 20 who are making more than $100,000 a year. The authority’s top job now belongs to Vincent J. Fenerty Jr., […]
TODAY I SAW: Mantua Hall II
BY JEFF DEENEY TODAY I SAW new black magic marker tags scrawled on the sidewalk outside Mantua Hall. “Tre Six Gangstas,” read one, “36th Street Mafia” read another. There’s a ledge outside the front doors to the housing project tall enough to sit on, and there were seven or eight Tre Six boys kicking back on the ledge and mobbed on the steps leading to the front door. It was early Friday evening, so I assumed they were getting ready to serve the payday party crowd that would start rolling through at any minute. One of the boys had shoulder […]
BREAKING: Don’t Call It A Comeback
Roc-A-Fella Records’ CEO and Def Jam President Jay-Z will leave the office in November to embark on the “American Gangster Live” tour, a five-date outing in support of his upcoming album, American Gangster. Jay-Z will treat fans to exclusive shows in mid-sized, intimate venues in Los Angeles, Chicago, Baltimore, New York and Philadelphia, where he will perform songs from his American Gangster album, which is the rapper’s interpretation of the upcoming American Gangster movie. The rapper will kick off the tour at the House of Blues in Los Angeles on November 6, the same day the American Gangster album lands […]
NEWS CLUES: It’s Like Adderall For Your Eyeballs
NUTTY PROFESSOR: Regrets What He Said, If He Said It James D. Watson, who shared the 1962 Nobel prize for deciphering the double-helix of DNA, apologized “unreservedly” yesterday for comments reported this week suggesting that black people, over all, are not as intelligent as whites. In an interview published Sunday in The Times of London, Dr. Watson is quoted as saying that while “there are many people of color who are very talented,” he is “inherently gloomy about the prospect of Africa.” “All our social policies are based on the fact that their intelligence is the same as ours — […]
WORTH REPEATING: Takes ‘A Wide Stance’ To Win Big
This morning, Stephen Colbert discussed his just-announced candidacy for the President of the United States with Tim Russert on Meet The Press. Crazy like a Fox, Colbert’s southern strategy is to run as a Republican in the South Carolina primary and to lose and lose big. How? By tapping Senator Larry Craig as his running mate, of course. And if that doesn’t work, there’s always the closeted antics of Chuck Noblet — himself no stranger to the coded entreaties of men’s room meet-and-greets, and widely available on DVD — to drive gay-averse Dixiecrats into the arms of the enemy: Russert: […]
INSTA-REVIEW: Five Things You Should Know About Spoon Last Night At The Electric Factory
1. They start off mellow, measured and, frankly, boring-as-hell. Half the crowd is asleep by the third song. Please oh please, Britt! Break out some of them catchy tunes. You know, like that “Camera” song. Yeah, that one! Okay, that’s more like it. Hips are moving. People are grooving. Now the pace is set for the rest of the night. 2. “The Ghost of You Lingers” is meant to be heard live. The bassist and guitarists are banging, banging, banging on the keyboards. Britt’s tremulous voice lingers and echoes as if he were singing into a vast subterranean cavern. It’s […]
All Of This Happened While You Were Sleeping
SUB PRIME LENDER: 50 Cent showed up unannounced at Powerhouse 2007 last night at the Wachovia Center, grabbed his dick and left. Plus, some other stuff happened. [Photo by JONATHAN VALANIA]
ALT-RAWK TALK: Thirteen Astonishing Things You Are NOT Supposed To Know About Spoon
[As told to JONATHAN VALANIA] 1. Britt Daniel has never killed anyone. “Technically, no,” he says when asked. 2. “Don’t Make Me A Target” was originally titled “Don’t Blame Me I Voted For Nader.” 3. Spoon is named after the Can song of the same name. Britt first learned about Kraut Rock in the 11th grade from his obsessive study of every word uttered by Julian Cope. 4. Britt Daniel may have voted for Ralph Nader instead of Al Gore in 2000. “I think maybe I did,” he says when asked. 5. Britt Daniel is 36 years old and has […]
SPOON: Don’t You Evah
Spoon plays the Electric Factory Friday, with The Ponys and DJ Dave P.
MAILBAG: Less Anderson
DEAR PHAWKER, Normally i wouldn’t comment, but man, by my watch — phawker were the only ones that nailed the review. love wes anderson, but i thought critics by and large gave this movie a huge pass. when a movie’s is this dull, and strangly lifeless; anderson’s whole thing starts to feel like a formula to me. and when it starts to feel like a formula — it cheapens the memories of movie’s past.. and that is a drag. nice job on stepping out on this one. JIM SUTCLIFFE PREVIOUSLY: The Royal Dressing Down PREVIOUSLY: Live And Direct From The […]